Fair Trade
by iluvfairytail
Summary: When Juvia and Freed, two lovestruck mages, realize they can help each other, a bargain is struck. But will everything go as planned? (Gruvia/Fraxus)


Freed Justine, captain of the Raijinshuu, walked into the guildhall and found it strangely empty. Mirajane stood at the bar, cleaning some mugs, and Kinana moved from table to table, wiping them down with a damp cloth. Only a few tables were occupied by mages. Levy and Lucy sat at a table in the back corner, surrounded by stacks of books, heads huddled together in concentration over some document. Cana was passed out on a table and snoring softly, empty bottle of rum still clutched in her hand. Nab stood by the request board, scrutinizing its contents in his seemingly endless search for a suitable job. Juvia sat at the bar, focused on something in her hands.

Making his way over to the bar to order a glass of wine before settling at his own table to balance the Raijinshuu and Laxus' expenses for the week, Freed sidled up next to Juvia. The other mage didn't look up from her project, but Freed noticed the plethora of sewing materials spread out before her on the bar surface.

"The usual, Freed?" Mirajane asked, already pouring a glass of house wine.

"Yes, thank you, Mirajane," Freed replied, placing some money on the bar as she slid his drink to him. He was about to leave, when Freed noticed what Juvia was working on: a dark haired doll that bore a striking resemblance to a certain ice-make mage he knew.

"Is that a doll of Gray?" Freed asked, curious.

Juvia startled, and looked up at Freed, blushing. "Freed-san! Juvia did not see you there!" she exclaimed.

"I am sorry for startling you," Freed replied, sitting down next to her. "But that is Gray? It's done very well."

"Juvia has always enjoyed sewing," Juvia smiled, staring down at her creation. "Juvia was just fixing her Gray-sama doll. It is precious to Juvia."

Suddenly struck with an idea, Freed asked, "Would you be willing to make me one? A doll?"

Juvia's smile quickly faded. "What does Freed-san want with a Gray-sama doll?" she asked, eyeing him with suspicion. "Could it be that you love Gray-sama too?!"

Laughing nervously, Freed shook his head. "I've no interest in a doll of Gray . . . but could you make a doll of someone else? I will buy one from you."

"Oh! Juvia can definitely make Freed-san a doll!" Juvia beamed, happy and relieved that she did not have yet another love rival. "But Juvia does not need payment."

"No, I would not feel right asking such a thing without offering something in return. Perhaps there is something I can do for you? If you do not wish for monetary compensation, that is."

Juvia bit her lip, blushed, and turned away. "J-Juvia thinks there may be something Freed-san can do for her . . ." She peeked over her shoulder at him. "If Freed-san is willing."

After ten minutes, the two mages had struck their bargain, both satisfied with the arrangement. Juvia was nearly bubbling over with excitement as she collected her sewing materials and bid Freed farewell. Swearing Mirajane to secrecy (because the nosy barmaid had been eavesdropping the entire time), Freed collected his wine and made his way to an empty table where he began planning how to fulfill his end of the agreement.

One week later, Freed waited for Juvia at the bar, ignoring Mirajane's smirks from across the counter. Freed's end of the bargain had required some preparation, so Mirajane had let him in before opening to set everything up. Unlike a week ago, the guildhall was bursting with excitement and mirth. Every table was full to capacity, and almost the entire guild was present. Natsu and his team had just returned from a job and were sitting at a table with Cana. Natsu stood on the table, excitedly reenacting some fight with a monster while an irritated Lucy tugged on his pant legs, yelling at him to get down.

Bixlow sat next to Freed, his dolls spinning around in the rafters above, chasing Happy in a game of tag. Floating past with a tray of full beer mugs, Mirajane winked at Freed, and then nodded to someone behind him. A light touch on his shoulder made Freed turn around to see Juvia, her face flushed. She glanced nervously over at Natsu's table, where Gray sat with his back to them.

Adjusting the strap of her sewing bag on her shoulder, Juvia turned back to Freed. "Juvia is finished with Freed-san's doll! Was Freed-san able to complete his part?"

Freed smirked smugly. "Everything is ready. You just have to lead him over to that spot," Freed pointed to an empty corner of the guild. "The spell is tuned to Gray, so make sure you are touching him when you pass through. Otherwise you may be locked out."

"Juvia is very thankfull, Freed-san!" she blushed. "Juvia will not fail!" Juvia quickly turned and nearly skipped all the way to Gray's table.

"What was that about?" Bixlow asked, curious.

"You'll see," Freed smirked, turning back to his wine.

"Gray-sama, Juvia has something to show you!" Juvia exclaimed as she sat down next to him, ignoring everyone else at the table. Lucy and Erza exchanged knowing looks as Juvia tugged on the ice-mage's arm. Natsu continued his re-enactment, stepping far too close to Erza's strawberry shortcake for comfort.  
"Now?" he asked, disgruntled.

"Yes! It's important to Juvia!" Juvia blushed. "It is something Gray-sama will like, Juvia is sure."

He sighed in annoyance, but still blushed slightly as Juvia's chest pressed up against his bare arm, looking up at him pleadingly with her wide brown eyes. Turning away to hide his flushed face, he muttered, "Fine," and allowed Juvia to drag him away from the table and toward the spot Freed had pointed out.

"Where is it?" he asked, frowning. "There's nothing here."

"It's just over here, Gray-sama," Juvia replied, reaching to take his hand. Just as her fingers touched his wrist, there was a commotion on the other side of the guildhall as a fight broke out.  
"Gray, watch out!" someone shouted. As Gray and Juvia turned toward the shout, Natsu came hurdling at them, punched by an enraged Erza. As if in slow motion, Juvia watched Natsu and Gray collide, her hand slipping out of Gray's as he fell backward, Natsu on top of him. As soon as they crashed to the floor, a purple rune barrier rose up from the ground, locking the two rivals inside. Juvia stared in horror at the dragon slayer who had unintentionally taken her place.

"What the hell!" Gray snarled, pushing Natsu off him. "Do you wanna go, Flame Brain?"

"What's it to you, Ice Princess?" Natsu snarled back. The two locked glares and exchanged insults, still unaware of the barrier.

"Gray-saaammmmmaaaa," Juvia sobbed, pounding on the barrier. On the other side of the guildhall, Freed sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. _Leave it to Natsu to screw everything up_, he thought.

Natsu threw a punch, which pushed Gray into the barrier. Instead of falling through, he bounced back into Natsu, knocking the two of them into the wall. It was then that they noticed the purple walls that kept them enclosed. Forgetting about their disagreement, Gray went up to the wall and touched it. Words appeared within the barrier, floating right at eye level: _This barrier will remain until its two occupants have kissed._

"WHAT THE HELL?" Gray and Natsu yelled at the same time, jumping to opposite sides of their new cage. At this point, the entire guild was focused on the unfortunate duo trapped within Freed's spell, a crowd forming around the transparent purple walls. Bixlow's dolls were flying into the barrier and bouncing back out into the guild, giggling at their new game.

"Oi, Freed!" Gray shouted as he pounded on the barrier and strained to catch sight of the aforementioned mage. "This is your doing, isn't it? Let us out!"

"This was meant for Juvia and Gray-sama," Juvia whimpered, as she forlornly stared at the object of her affection. At this point, Gray and Natsu were back to arguing, foreheads nearly touching as they exchanged insults. She was suddenly reminded of that time at Ryuzetsu Land when Lyon and Gray ended up going down the Love Slide together, and a blush spread across her cheeks at the memory. Maybe this was not as much a disaster as Juvia thought . . .

"I am sorry it turned out this way. I have failed in my end of our bargain," a voice said behind her. Juvia turned and saw Freed, who was just a bit mortified that his spell had gone awry. "Do you want me to let them out? I don't know if you'll be able to trick Gray into the same trap again though."

It was then that Juvia noticed almost everyone in the guild was looking at them, waiting for her decision. Juvia faced away from everyone so she could think. She had really wanted to steal a kiss from Gray-sama . . . but this was not such a bad alternative either. She would have other opportunities to be with her beloved, after all. "Juvia would like them to stay," she answered.

"WHA?" the two men exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Oh, Juvia did really want a kiss from Gray-sama, but Juvia also has an appreciation for boys' love!" Juvia swooned. "Even if the other boy is Natsu-san," she added as an aside.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Natsu grumbled, just as the guild erupted into a ruckus of cheers and excited banter. Most of the girls rushed to the front as the men stayed back, making bets on how long Gray and Natsu would hold out. Cana set up shop on one of the tables, taking and marking bets between swigs of rum.

Lucy stood at the very front of the crowd with Happy perched on her shoulder. In an eerie unison, the two intoned, "You liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike each other."

"Come now, Gray, Natsu," Erza smiled. "We are all comrades here. What is a mere kiss between nakama?"

"BE REAL MEN!" Elfman bellowed, as Bixlow's dolls flew in circles around his head, chanting, "Be real men! Be real men!" and "Kiss! Kiss!"

"Oh! Before Juvia forgets!" She reached into her sewing bag and pulled out a Laxus doll, complete with spiky blonde hair, earphones and his distinctive scar. It was exactly what Freed had envisioned, and he took it eagerly, hugging it to his chest.

"Thank you, Juvia," he smiled. "It's perfect."

Juvia beamed at her guild mate, but was swept away by her fellow female mages before she could say anything.

"OI!" Natsu shouted, now standing right in front of Freed. "There ain't no way I'm letting that stripper pervert _kiss_ me!"

"Well, then you and Gray will be in there for a while," Freed replied smugly. Without another word, he turned and walked away, arms wrapped around his Laxus doll.

"HEY!" Gray yelled, pounding on the barrier. "Get back here, you bastard! FREED!"

Ignoring his fellow guild mates' pleas, the captain of the Raijinshuu waded through the cheerful cacophony that was the Fairy Tail guildhall and walked out into the night. Looking down at his prize, he allowed himself to blush and squeezed the doll to his chest even harder. This had been a fair trade, indeed.


End file.
